NBL1 Men Round 2 vs Southern Tigers
The South Ave Norwood Flames Men (0 – 1) are looking to bounce-back from a poor offensive game against the Woodville Warriors in this round 2 matchup against the Southern Tigers (0 – 1). Southern is coming off a blowout loss to the Central Districts Lions 86 – 116 and are also looking to come into form in this game. The Flames import Thomas Kurowski was a big bright spot in their first game and he’ll look to repeat his efforts tonight. Mason Whittaker is making his season debut tonight alongside veteran Daniel Webber being inserted into the starting lineup.
Thomas Kurowksi opened scoring in transition for the Flames but Southern responded before Norwood got back taking the early lead with an and-1 basket. Kurowski continued his offensive display from the first game, draining his first 3 shots and putting Norwood up 6-3 early. The Flames offence looked great out of the gates, displayed by 2 early triples for Daniel Webber. A 4-point play from Kurowksi put the Flames up by 11 early. Big dunks from Koop McCalop and Devin Fortune looked to spark something in the Tigers but their defence was not good enough, Kurowski ending the quarter in double digits but the whole Norwood team raining triples with little resistance hitting 5 in the quarter. 28 – 16 the score.
The tempo of the second half was very fast from the get go, multiple possessions going to each team within the first 30 seconds of play. This pace change gave both some teams some unorthodox possessions, ending in turnovers and rushed shots. Inady Legiste was able to slow the game down and score in the post for the Flames to open scoring. Both Inady and Daniel Webber then drained some triples blowing out the Norwood lead to 20. After a fastbreak finish from Campbell Scott the Tigers were forced into a timeout. A turnover in the backcourt led to another highlight dunk from the Tigers, this dunk sparked some offence into the squad who had been struggling up until this point. Some big defensive plays brought the game back within 20. Thomas Kurowski wasn’t going down though as he continued his offensive onslaught, a tough step-back middy giving him his 21st point of the night. The Flames still held a comfortable lead as the half came to a close, 52 – 37.
The Tigers came into the second half swinging, hitting 2 triples and bringing the game back into single digits, Daniel Webber answered with a pull-up 2 to stop the bleeding for Norwood. The Tigers were playing with much more intensity defensively, forcing a few turnovers and getting out in transition to make it a 7-point game, forcing a timeout from Miles Pearce and the Flames. Out of the timeout Daniel Webber continued his impressive 3-point shooting hitting another 2 triples for the Flames. Despite the hot shooting and improved defence of the Tigers, Norwood was able to maintain their lead, feeding the ball inside and scoring through on and off-ball actions. The myriad of ways Norwood was scoring allowed them to continually counter Southern’s defensive intensity, slowly extending their lead out to 15. Southern went on an extended run to end the quarter, with the last 3 minutes going +8 for them. A mix of intense defence, athletic plays and hot shooting enabling them to cut into the Norwood lead. By the end of the quarter Norwood was still in-front but only by 7, 68 – 61.
Campbell Scott opened the last period with 4 quick points, giving Norwood back a double-digit lead. The Tigers were keeping up the Flames early in the quarter, the defence of Norwood was keeping them at bay but the occasional score was enough to stop the game from getting out of hand. The game hovered around 10 points for the majority of the quarter, occasionally breaking out to 15 but Norwood nor Southern were giving an inch. A massive step-back 3 for Campbell Scott gave the Flames a 13-point cushion. The defensive mindset from the Flames changed at this point, back to what it was in the first quarter, high motor, lots of communication and tons of energy giving Norwood a big edge on that end of the court. The Flames balanced a fast offence, capitalising on their stops with a more play heavy approach to slowly grow their lead towards the end of the game, extending the lead further and further until the final score, 77 – 99.
